Seized by the System

“I already told you that you must rely on your true power. How could you cheat again? Taking shortcuts is a big no-no!” Sir System witnessed the entire situation and was exclaimed in anger.

Fang Ning heard its tone, which meant that he would not master his true power without dying for a hundred more rounds.

He ignored the System’s remarks, pressed his palms together and cried, “System, you’re taking things way too seriously!”

“What do you mean? You very clearly used a stone slab that is tied to a soul and cheated blatantly. How is that still reasonable?” Sir System was very unhappy.

“Hehe,” Fang Ning said wisely, “a philosopher once said that a man’s road to success is paved when he knows how to adapt to his surroundings. This is my true power…”

“…” Sir System was speechless. It could ignore the Host’s excuses, but the philosopher’s words were probably true.

That sentence was not something made up by the Host, but it could be searched. It was mentioned in the book “Encouraging Learning” by the ancient philosopher Xunzi and not one word of it was faked.

“Dammit, since this is a quote by a philosopher, I’ll count it as you have beaten the level; However, don’t be too cocky, for the real test will be coming soon!” Sir System announced sternly.

Fang Ning replied dismissively. “Fine, fine, it’s always easier for you to make a big deal out of this test. You still have to concoct an actual level before I can complete everything.”

“Don’t you look down on me!” Sir System scolded.

Fang Ning listened and weighed the circumstances. This third-rate crap had been playing tricks on him of late. He had better not come up with any strange ideas.

He quickly went over his thoughts and made a mental Excel list of all the things that he was afraid of.

In the end, he realized that he was fearful of a lot of things and had a hard time sorting them out.

Evidently, to be a true powerhouse, he still had a long way to go.

He had seen the cultivation info curated by Anderson. Many of the powerhouses from the Upper Realm had to go through a long and arduous journey of conquering themselves before becoming who they were today.

Each time they reached a new level in their cultivation process, it meant that they had to overcome some mental obstacle. If they lacked the required mental resilience, they were incapable of controlling greater forces.

This was not some concept made up out of thin air.

To put it simply, if someone had control over the button to launch a nuclear weapon and he wanted someone to join him in death, who could stop him?

On Earth, the solution was simple. By using a matching set of catapult mechanisms, one could prevent many unnecessary deaths.

The Heavenly Axiom of the Upper Realm shared a similar concept.

The Heavenly Axiom stated that if one did not have the required mental resilience, it was difficult for him to control stronger forces. This was to prevent him from causing too much damage to the Heavens and Earth before his death.

Those deities dared to murder humans, but they never dared to use their own powers to annihilate the world.

You could be evil, and you could be kind, but a threshold had to be obeyed, and that was to maintain the balance of Heaven and Earth and follow the ways of the world.

That was the reason. If he had such intentions and went ahead with them, he would go into deviatory psychosis and fail to reach enlightenment.

Individuals who followed the Path of Devils often wanted to exploit the loopholes of the Heavenly Axiom and avoid such restrictions. As such, those who did this ended up as devils and lost their ability to think rationally, bringing destruction to the world. Even if they had amassed immense power, it would be of no use to them as they would not be able to enjoy the benefits of their power.

Gambling, lust, greed, pugnacity… All of these negative traits had to be overcome in order to achieve enlightenment.

Or else, one would enter deviatory psychosis, and a lifetime of cultivation would be in vain. Worse, he might end up getting paralyzed and disabled, which was a fate worse than death. This sort of thing would be considered a miracle if it did not happen for millions of times each year.

As for Fang Ning himself, he had the System to control him, so he did not have to overcome such problems in terms of mental resilience. He stood at the top of the Maxim and never faced any issues with deviatory psychosis, making cultivation a breeze.

As Fang Ning pondered, his surroundings began to change.

There was a tranquil valley overgrowing with orchids.

A wooden house stood in the middle of the valley. There were steep hills and cliffs around the valley, making them almost impossible to climb.

Right now, Fang Ning was in front of the wooden house.

“Tell me, what’s this test about?”

Fang Ning just finished speaking when a large book fell from the sky with a “boom”.

There were three huge words on the book ——”Atmospheric Morality Technique”!

“If you can’t cultivate to the Legendary Level within ten years, don’t ever think about leaving this valley!” Sir System chuckled.

“What the f*ck?! System, you can’t do this!” Fang Ning was stunned. “You train and pay to win, and you got to the Legendary Level after two years. I’m just a beginner. Ten years is simply impossible! I don’t know how long it’ll take to reach the Legendary Level.”

“Yes, this is the final test! Aren’t you ready to push yourself? This isn’t something that you simply agree to, but it’s all about your perseverance in the long run. I’ve made my decision, since you’re of no major use, I’ll just provide you with some advice. This last medicinal effect is to provide you with an isolated environment. You have no access to the internet and electricity and you don’t need to eat or drink. You just need to focus on your cultivation for ten years. I’ve given you so many pills, so it’s likely that you’ll reach the Legendary Level. If you can cultivate diligently in these ten years, that means you have really turned over a new leaf, unlike the old you who lacked perseverance and commitment.” Sir System justified.

“…” Fang Ning was out of words, then he panicked. “No, you want me to cultivate in isolation for ten years, and that’s fine, but I have a wife. If we don’t see each other for ten years, our relationship will be over.”

“Great, I’ll give this valley a name, ‘The Valley of Doomed Relationships’…” Sir System laughed.

“F*ck, System, where’s your heart?” Fang Ning wanted to cry, but no tears came out of his eyes.

“I never had a heart.” Sir System replied coldly.

Fang Ning thought really hard and came up with an idea. “This is not befitting of a hero! Abandoning his family in order to cultivate is a cold-blooded act! By forcing me to do so, you’re gonna lose a ton of Chivalry Points!”

“Ugh, you sure think a lot…” Sir System grumbled. “Fine, you have a point. I’ll pick some cultivation techniques for your wife so that she can cultivate for ten years as well. With this, there’ll be no delays between the two of you. If you truly love each other, not seeing each other for ten years won’t be an obstacle. However, if you can’t bear being apart for ten years, it’s better for both of you to break up. We’ll become holy beings in the future.”

“System, you’re still a kind-hearted fellow after all, I wasn’t wrong about you.” Fang Ning remarked gladly.

Sir System was not an evil System and it had limits to its actions. The Chivalry Points were able to control him.

What about other relationships? Fang Ning wondered and realized there was nothing much of concern. Those relationships were handled by Vigilante A, who was seized by the System, and had no direct correlation with Fang Ning. Not seeing others for a long time did not pose a problem.

Fang Ning surrendered to his fate. “Alright, let me meet my family and I’ll explain to them.”

“Why go through all that trouble? I’ll handle all these matters for you. Forget about other things and concentrate on your cultivation. I promise I won’t let your wife cheat on you.” Sir System replied impatiently.

“You really think of so many things…” Fang Ning couldn’t win an argument with this crap, so he gave up.

He began to flip the pages of the thick book.

He did have many things to worry about to begin with. Earlier, he was triggered by the gods to push himself further.

Now, Sir System forced him into an environment specially created for cultivation. This reminded him of his days as a student in twelfth grade. Under the teachers’ supervision and by comparing himself with his classmates, he was fully committed to learning and had no other thoughts apart from gaining knowledge. He studied for 14 to 16 hours each day, which was highly efficient of him. He was once a high achiever at school.

“Morality fills the Heavens and Earth, granting form to all that is around. From the rivers and hills, to the sun, moon, and stars.”

Fang Ning read the contents and slowly sank into a trance, focusing wholly on the technique.

Sir System’s “Atmospheric Morality Technique” was filled with pictures and descriptions. It was a comprehensive book that could be found neither in Heaven nor on Earth, making it one of its kind.

Whether it was Zheng Dao or the Yellow Dog Xue Ba who inherited such knowledge, they focused their cultivation on this technique without skipping a session, for they knew how precious this technique was. Not only could it defy ghosts and deities, but it could also shake up the Heavens and Earth.

On the other hand, Fang Ning and the Black Dog Brett were lazy and lacked discipline, hence they did not make much progress.

Now, Sir System had given Fang Ning the steps to master this technique. It was the final test, so it was suited to Fang Ning.

If he really could achieve the Legendary Level, that meant he had superhuman discipline and character, surpassing everyone around him. The benefits that he would get on the path of cultivation in the future were immeasurable.

Therefore, Fang Ning was not surprised that Sir System simply handed him a cultivation technique in his final test instead of conjuring spooky stuff again.

To the old him, this technique was part of his greatest fears.

To be able to achieve the Legendary Level in ten years would have been intimidating to the Upper Realm deities.

The quintessence of the technique laid there and could make a person feel fulfilled and contented. If one cultivated it successfully, he could possess the same mental resilience as the ones of deities that have achieved spiritual ascension. This was the main path to achieving ascension of mental resilience!

Most people who wanted this opportunity never got a chance to experience it. Even if it was passed down from generation to generation, the heir would still have to go through many tests before he could inherit this technique.

After all, the deities did not wish for humans to be perfect. That would only pose more risks to the world and increase the number of opponents.